Fight the Break of Dawn
by Watching Eternity
Summary: MLxDS 7 years after the book, Mary's 17, Dickon 18, and something happens in the Garden that throws Mary into a panic. What's wrong with Dickon? WAKE UP! R&R, 4 part series, part 4 up. Better than it sounds! FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey guys, I've been on this whole "The Secret Garden" thing lately, so I started writing this. It's a 4 part story, starting with this part. Enjoy, and remember, Review!**_

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"Dickon! Ready or not, here I come!"

Mary opened her eyes, she was in the Secret Garden. At seventeen years of age she still loved a good game of Hide-and-Seek. Colin and her uncle were in London for a meeting, Mrs. Medlock was in a happy retirement in a set of apartments given to her by Lord Craven, and Martha was head of housekeeping. Mary had made sure that Mrs. Sowerby and her children had been moved to the Misselthwaite and they now roamed all over the now happy house.

Mary turned around. There was the pool, and the place Colin had first walked. Over a ways was the statue of a grumpy old man that Mary loved to make fun of, and there was the place where Mary's aunt had fallen to her death, all covered in roses.

Mary walked forward and around the tree stump, towards the swing, searching for her dearest friend. Mary and Dickon were even closer than her and Colin. Mary secretly loved Dickon. She loved his slightly-to-large mouth that was always smiling, his rusty-red hair that she always itched to brush out of his face, his round, blue eyes that could see straight into her soul in a glance. His laugh was infectious, his smile made her world go 'round. Mary felt that Dickon's friendship was the most important thing in the world to her. She valued it more than her own life.

"Dickon! Where are you?" She called out, her voice ringing like little silver bells. She heard something behind the tree to her left. She laughed and ran around the tree to see Dickon lying on the ground.

"I found you! Dickon? Dickon, what's wrong?" He wasn't moving, he wasn't answering. Mary kneeled next to him, panic filling her, choking her. She felt for a pulse. Dickon's skin was waxy and his pulse faint.

"Dickon! Dickon! Wake up! Dickon!" she cried. She shook him, trying to wake him up, trying to make everything right again. Suddenly his eyes fluttered open.

"Mary? Why art tha' cryin'? Please don' cry, please." He croaked, raising his hand to hold her face. She felt his hand slide a bit on the tears that were sliding down her face.

"Dickon! Stay with me, ok? I need you to lean on me so we can get you home." She told him, his only acknowledgment was a slight nod. Mary pulled him to his feet and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He leaned heavily on her and they slowly made their way down the path and out the secret door.

Mary looked around for someone, _anyone_, to help her. She saw a rather new, but extremely kind, gardener named Hunter working on a primrose bush.

"Hunter! Hunter, help me!" Mary called out. The gardener, he was at least twenty-five, looked up, startled, and dropped his pruning shears to run and pick up Dickon's skinny eighteen year old frame, who was falling off Mary's shoulder. He wasn't conscious anymore, god, his breath was shuddering, barely even there.

"What happen'd, Lady Mary?" Hunter asked as they rushed to the manor. "I don't know! One second he's hiding behind a tree and the next he's on the ground! He doesn't seem to know what's going on, though." she spoke in a rush. Hunter didn't ask why he had been hiding behind a tree. Everyone knew that Dickon and Mary played Hide-and-Seek in the Garden.

They reached the manor and Mary directed to the first safe room she could think of: her room. The got up the stairs in record time. "Put him here, please!" Mary practically tripped coming through the door, but still managed to point Hunter towards the bed. "Now, I need you to find Marth and Mrs. Sowerby and bring them here immediately! Now!" She shouted when she saw him hesitate. He fled from the room and Mary turned towards the bed.

"Oh, what's wrong with tha', my poor Dickon. Please, stay with me, wait a wee bit longer now." She said, slipping into the broad Yorkshire that she usually used when she was alone. It was her way of trying to be closer to Dickon. Her voice switched back "Oh lord, please don't die. I love you, I know you can't hear me, but I do. Just hold on, please, just a little longer." Mary didn't doubt that this was serious. Dickon was _never _sick. He was the one who always sat next to her bed when she came down with something, getting her soup, or playing his pipe, or just talking to her. He always stayed with her until she got better. Knowing that he liked her voice, Mary started to sing a lullaby that her _ayah_ had sung to her when she was sick.

_Night is closing overhead  
Just lay here, child, in your bed.  
I will stay here by your side,  
I will sing a lullaby.  
You should sleep, just close your eyes,  
Fold your wings, sweet butterfly._

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_**So? What'd you guys think? I have the next four parts written so I want 5 reviews before I update it! I mean it now, 5 REVIEWS! Now get going, or you'll never get that update!**_

_**Watching Eternity.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I'm disappointed with you guys. 89 hits and only 1 review??? You make me sad, but I'm updating anyways because I have nothing to do. I want **__**5 REVIEWS**__** before I update again!! I mean it!! A thanks to Dook as the ONLY reviewer. Thank you, Dook!**_

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The lullaby, the only song that Mary could think of, made Dickon stir but not waken. Mary sang on for a few minutes, when Martha and her mother ran into the room. They rushed over to the bed and Mary backed away a bit to give Mrs. Sowerby room to work her magic.

"Mary, what happened _exactly_?" Mrs. Sowerby asked sharply, checking over her son.

"He and I were in the Garden, playing Hide-and-Seek like we do a lot. I was seeking when I heard movement behind the tree my Aunt fell out of. I went over to look and there was Dickon on the ground, unconscious. I checked his pulse and he came around for a few minutes. He said something, and I got him up the stairs and through the door. There was Hunter at the end of the path, I called out and we got him to the first room I could think up. Then I sent Hunter to go get you both. Dickon hasn't regained consciousness since that first time," Mary explained, fighting through the tears to say what she knew. Martha was crying quietly. Everyone knew something was seriously wrong.

"Mary, what did he say to tha'?" Mrs. Sowerby asked, her eyes intent on her face. Mary looked up at the mother of the man she loved.

"He told me to stop crying." She said, voice breaking.

"Now listen to me, Mary. Dickon 'tis not sick in the least. He be still very wick. But somethin' in his head 'tis holding him captive. I know naught what 'tis, but I do know 'tis probably a choice left unmade. I know he's been all a fretted about somewhat that 'tis hard to decide upon. He prob'ly won't awake 'til this choice is made, he might talk in his sleep, he might not. If he does it'll give tha' a clue to what be ailing his mind. It's important that someone be always here with Dickon, in case he awakens," Mrs. Sowerby concluded. Her eyes piercing as she looked at Mary, "Would tha' watch over me boy? I'd ask someone else, but tha'rt the only one who could be here full time." Mary nodded, she understood Mrs. Sowerby's reasoning.

"I owe him that at the very least," Mary said, moving out of Martha's arms and sitting down on the bed next to Dickon. She pulled his head onto her lap and brushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Why would tha' owe him that?" Mrs. Sowerby asked. Mary missed the look that flashed across Dickon's mother's face. It was a look of triumph. She knew what Mary was about to say. Mrs. Sowerby had been waiting for this moment since she first saw Mary all those years ago. The touch of destiny was on these two children, and soon they would be fulfilled within the love they would share. If all rested on Dickon's shoulders; his choice would make or break them.

"Dickon saved me from myself, from my loneliness. He's the one that is always by my side when I'm ill; he always knows how to make the world a brighter place. I love him with all my heart," Mary whispered. Martha, forgotten in this exchange, gave a little sigh. She loved a good love story. Mrs. Sowerby just smiled knowingly, her prayers answered.

"Tha' finally admitted it to tha'self. Tha' finally stopped denying tha' love." Mary only nodded, eyes fixed on Dickon's face. She wasn't really surprised that Mrs. Sowerby knew; she was the smartest, wisest, person Mary had ever met.

Martha and Mrs. Sowerby left quietly, leaving Mary alone with her charge. Mrs. Sowerby hadn't said all that she knew. She knew what the choice Dickon had to make, how this same thing happened to all the people in her line when they had to make the choice of love, Mrs. Sowerby had gone through the same exact thing when she had to accept her husband's proposal or not. What a shock he'd had when right after proposing Mrs. Sowerby had fallen unconscious. This was just the way her family dealt with love. Yes, it was very odd, but it worked very well for them. Mrs. Sowerby only hoped that Dickon, trapped in questing sleep, would make the right choice.

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_**Ok, now I will not break down and update until I got **__**5**__** REVIEWS, Start reviewing my poppets.**_

_**Watching Eternity.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey guys! Wow, that's better! I hope I haven't totally mangled the Yorkshire accent of Dickon's and Mrs. Sowerby. I have the 5 reviews I need to update and so here it is! I got even a reader from Rome! That shocked me, Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! This update is mostly in Dickon's mind. His choices laid bare.**_

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Mary continued to sit on the bed, Dickon's head in her lap. Mary was thinking very hard, she needed to figure out what to do about her would-be lover. She loved Dickon more than she had ever loved anything in the world. She realized now that the feelings of growth, happiness, passion, they were all connected and tied to her dear love. Mary brushed at Dickon's hair, humming a tuneless but comforting song.

"Dickon, when you wake up, I swear that I will tell you I love you, that within moments of you waking I will confess. Just please, please wake soon," Mary whispered. Dickon shifted slightly and his head bobbed as if nodding in agreement. Mary smiled sadly and started to sing again.

_I miss you,_

_Like the sun misses the moonlight._

_I miss you,_

_Like the star misses the sky._

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_He was in the secret garden, but he was all by himself. The wind wasn't blowing, there were no sounds, no animals, nothing. Just him and the plants._

"_**You need to choose, twin of mine,"**__ said a refined voice behind him. He spun around to see himself. The other him was dressed in nice clothes like Colin wore, he had a pocket watch attached to his belt and a ornate cane in hand. His eyes were half closed and large, dark circles hung under them like black sails hang when there is no wind. His back was bent, like Lord Craven's had been before the 'rebirth'._

"_What do I have to choose?"_

"_**Weather you will love her or leave her."**_

_He had no doubt who _she_ was. Mary. Mary; the light in his world, the hope in his heart. He'd loved her from the moment he'd first laid eyes on her all those years ago in the maze the Garden was hidden in. He had thought she was beautiful then, she was absolutely stunning now. He loved her more than anything else in the universe, he even imitated her speech when she wasn't there._

"_I know I love her, but I also know I can' be with her. She's a fine lady, I'm just a common moor lad. We be friends, why would she love me anyways? I be not fair of face, or big of mind, I'm just Dickon, the garden an' animal lad," he told his twin stubbornly, but with a hint of the depression that had been dogging him for the past seven years. The twin smiled a sad smile._

"_**Let me show you something, twin."**_

_Suddenly the garden was gone and they were up at the Manor in Mary's room. On the bed, with _his_ head in her lap, was a sobbing Mary. He reached out to try and console her, but he found he couldn't move._

"Dickon, please come back to me. I love you. Just wake up. Please wake up,"_ Mary's voice was cracking and she sobbed a bit harder. If he hadn't been able to move before he certainly couldn't now! There was Mary saying she loved _him_. A voice in the back of his head said 'I told you so' but he ignored it, knowing it was that twin of his._

'_Where'd you go?_

_I miss you so,_

_Seems like it's been forever_

_Since you've been gone,_

_So come back home."_

_Frozen, he saw himself shift in Mary's lap and then he saw Mary lean down and kiss his forehead. He felt a warm pressure on his forehead for a moment and then it was gone, leaving a spot that was _much_ warmer than the rest of him._

"_**This is what is happening right now. I am going to show you two possible futures in store for you based on this one choice, the ones that are open to you. The first is if you stay and confess your love." **__The scene went white and then they were suddenly back in Mary's room, it was empty now and a more happy room. There were photographs everywhere and the fire crackled merrily in the hearth._

_Someone laughed and in entered an older Mary. Her summer dress was a light blue and she had a hand over her stomach. An older Dickon entered after her, laughing as well. He looked about the same as now, but his eyes shone with a new light. He went over to Mary and kissed her, putting his own hand lightly over her stomach. Suddenly understanding hit him._

"_She's _pregnant_." He whispered. Suddenly a pair of twins came in, a little girl with auburn hair, an obvious combination of Mary's and Dickon's, and a little boy with Dickon's rusty red hair, both possessing hazel eyes, yet another obvious combination of Mary's and Dickon's. They couldn't have been more than six. They jumped into Dickon's laughing arms._

_His double's voice sunk down into his mind. __**"This will happen if you stay with her and confess. You will be Lord Colin's advisor, a Lord in your own right. You will marry Lady Mary at the age of twenty and have six children; three boys and three girls. You will be happy. Now, here is what will happen if you leave her."**__ The scene went white again and then they were in a dark alley. He found himself staring at another, older version of himself, passed out in the alley with a whiskey bottle in hand._

"_**In this particular future, after leaving Lady Mary you try to drink away the pain of loss, but you are just killing yourself. In this future, you do not live past the age of twenty-five. You also die along, in pain, and you hold a deep regret." **__His twin was walking towards his drunk double. He bent down and touched his shoulder. The drunk double woke up and looked at the refined twin. Slowly they melded together into one future-twin. His twin looked at him, pain radiating in his eyes._

"_**Please, don't leave her. Have the life that I never had."**__ All he could do was nod, and then the world went dark._

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_**So? What'd you guys think? You know the drill, 5 reviews to get the next update!**_

_**Watching Eternity.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Ok guys, this is the last part of this fanfiction. I can't believe what this story has become. Yeah, it's small, but it all started off as a small idea. How can an idea become something that brings people together? Well, I know that sounds like I'm ignorant, I know how these things work, but it still shocks me nonetheless. Well, rant over, here's the last part**_

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_**Wake up, Dickon. The world wants you back.**_

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It's hard to imagine that love can help and harm so much. Let's look at the classic examples; Romeo and Juliet. Dead for love at the ripe old age of about eighteen and thirteen respectively. Cleopatra and Marc Antony, they fought for their love and country only to also die. It takes a true act of love to heal, be it mind or heart or soul. That's what Mary was doing to Dickon and Dickon was doing to Mary. They were healing each other's hurts and sorrows.

Mary was sitting on the bed still. She hadn't moved from the bed for the entire week except to go to the ladies room. _**[yes, the visions of Dickon's takes a week. It seems like long enough to make them suffer.**_ Martha had personally brought Mary her meal and Dickon's. Mary was the only one to touch Dickon besides Mrs. Sowerby who checked on him daily. Right now Mary was once again looking into Dickon's face, waiting impatiently for her love to wake up. Mary mother of god, he'd been asleep long enough; it was time to wake up! Mary was playing with Dickon's hand when his fingers curled into her own; the first sign of waking in a week. Mary's eyes shot to Dickon's face where his closed eyes moved rapidly, then slowly, _painfully_ slow, his gloriously blue eyes opened.

"Dickon! Dickon! Oh my lord, you are awake!" Dickon squeezed her hand and raised his other hand to her face; Mary turned into it and closed her eyes. "Mary," he breathed. "Mary, I've ne'er told tha', but I love tha' more than tha' will ever know," and he raised his face to hers, and kissed her softly.

You could have asked them to describe that kiss, or their love, for that matter, but their love surpassed all bounds. When they finally ran out of air they broke apart, both grinning very foolishly.

"Tha' beat me to it, lad." Mary said, resting her forehead against his and unconsciously slipping into the broad accent she loved on him. He was sitting upright now and a confused look flashed across his face. Mary laughed, "I promised meself that the first thin' I'd say to tha' would be 'I love tha'!" Dickon gave that lopsided grin that made Mary's stomach flop and he put his hand in hers.

"Well, I love tha' more than I ca' say. I hope tha' will take me as me, and that I would give tha' the world if tha' wanted it," he drew her in for another kiss. They were so oblivious to everything around them that they didn't notice Mrs. Sowerby walk straight into the room, look up, and then turn around. _So he has made the right choice_, Mrs. Sowerby suddenly beamed, turned down the hall, and headed towards Lord Craven's room. Lord Craven had just returned not but five minutes before with Master Colin and Mrs. Sowerby wanted to discuss Miss Mary's and her son's future.

Mary and Dickon broke apart, life suddenly looked suns brighter.

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_**So I just decided 2 seconds ago, I'm going to probably write a sequel about Mary and Dickon, married and with the first child on the way. I'm not sure, but it's an idea! Tell me what you think, and any ideas you might want in the story! Thanks for reading!**_

_**Watching Eternity**_


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